False twist-crimping machine

ABSTRACT

A false-twist crimping machine for processing filament yarn. The machine comprises a side frame having a bobbin located thereon for supplying the filament yarn to a delivery means for guiding the yarn to a heating zone. A middle frame carries a cooling zone which receives the yarn as it feeds from the heating zone. A false-twisting means receives the yarn as it feeds from the cooling zone and a take-off means supplies the yarn emitting from the false-twisting means to a winding device located at the middle frame. In assembly, the heating zone slopes at an oblique angle between the side frame and the middle frame and a height-adjustable yarn guide means is positioned at the angle formed between the heating zone and the cooling zone in a manner so that the yarn may run over it along a line substantially tangent from the outlet of the heating zone and along a line substantially tangent to the inlet of the cooling zone.

INTRODUCTION

The present invention relates to a false-twist crimping machine forprocessing filament yarn and, in particular, to such a machine having animproved heating zone and yarn guide means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

False-twist crimping machines operate today at thread speeds greaterthan 600 meters per minute. However, since the temperature of theheating devices utilized in such machines cannot be increased abovecertain values for reasons concerned with technical process involved,and since the residence time of the yarn within the heating zone cannotbe otherwise shortened, it has become necessary to use heaters havingincreasingly greater lengths. As a result of these developments,false-twist crimping machines have become very large in their overallsize.

Several methods have been proposed in order to reduce the size of suchmachines made necessary by the increased length of their heaterelements. For example, British Pat. No. 1,199,071 leads the yarn overthe heating element several times. However, such deflection of hot yarnin the false-twisting zone is technically feasible only if special stepsare taken to prevent damage to the yarn and yarn twist blockage at thedeflection points. It is also proposed in this British Patent to arrangea second heater horizontally above a service passage located between theside frame delivery bobbin and the middle frame. However, the ease ofserviceability of the machine suffers by such an arrangement and thereis an added danger of vapor collecting in the zone of the horizontalheater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a false-twist crimping machine whoseheating zone for the false-twisted yarn has a greater length, .Iadd.evenin excess of the width of the service passage, .Iaddend.but is wellwithin the space limits necessitated by the ceiling heights normallyfound in the textile industry. In addition, the machine design of thepresent invention allows for easy servicing and yarn application.Iadd.by a machine operator .Iaddend.and eliminates the danger of vaporsaccumulating in the zone of the heater.

One of the advantages of the machine design of the present inventionover those of the prior art is that the service passage, which mustalways be present and absolutely necessary with such false-twistingmachines, is utilized to .[.accomodate.]. .Iadd.accommodate .Iaddend.theheating elements. In this manner the design of the present inventionmakes better use of the area in which the machine is installed thanthose of the prior art. Moreover, the removal of vapor from the zone ofthe heating elements is promoted by the oblique positioning of theseelements which results in the further advantage that the input of theheating elements are at a level which can be easily reached withoutimpairing the accessibility of the service passage.

As illustrated below with respect to the preferred embodiment, the longheating element .Iadd.terminates at a height above the side frame and.Iaddend.may be supported between the side and middle frames. However,it is alternatively possible within the scope of the invention for theheater to be mounted on the middle frame with a cross-piece fittedthereto, or on a support located in the region of the side frame therebyallowing the side frame to remain freely movable.

Yarn may be applied without difficulty in a machine designed inaccordance with the present invention since almost all parts to whichthe yarn must be applied or into which it must be threaded (e.g.delivery mechanisms, heater, false-twister, etc.) lie within reach ofthe operator. Application of the yarn to the yarn over-run deviceslocated in the area between the heating and cooling zones may beeffected simply by means of a manually guided rod. The yarn guidearrangement illustrated in the preferred embodiment serves to increasethe reliability of yarn application in this region.

The yarn over-run .[.devision.]. .Iadd.devices .Iaddend.provided in.Iadd.the region of the apex of .Iaddend.the angle formed by the heatingand cooling zones are located in the operating position in a manner suchthat the yarn is brought into complete contact with the heating andcooling plates. This may be achieved by arranging a single yarn over-runelement at or above the point of intersection of lines substantiallytangent to the outlet of the heating plate and the inlet of the coolingplate. However, in order to reduce the height of the machine as much aspossible and to avoid sharp deflection or bending of the yarn in thisarea, a plurality of consecutive yarn over-run devices may be utilized.With such an arrangement, the possibility of damage to the still hotyarn running from the heating plate is avoided.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view in section of a false-twist crimping machineconstructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIGS. 2 and 2A are enlarged side views of the yarn guide means portionof the machine shown in FIG. 1 illustrated in different operatingpositions.

.[.DESCIRPTION.]. .Iadd.DESCRIPTION .Iaddend.OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a false-twist crimping machineconstructed in accordance with the present invention. The left hand ofthe machine is shown having a middle frame 1 and a side frame 2. Thehalf of the machine to the right of middle frame 1 is a mirror image ofthe illustrated left hand side and, therefore, has not been shown.

Side frame 2 carries delivery bobbins 3 upon which synthetic yarns arewound. Yarns 4, which may be any one of a variety of thermoplasticfilaments, are removed from the delivery bobbins 3 by means of adelivery mechanism 5 and then guided .Iadd.to the inlet end of, and.Iaddend.over a curved heating plate 6. One end of the heating plate 6and the delivery mechanism 5 are mounted on a support 32.Iadd.positioned immediately adjacent side frame 2.Iaddend. . They couldalternatively be mounted on a cross-piece (not shown) of middle frame 1or on the side frame 2. The other end of heating plate 6 is secured onmiddle frame 1 at an oblique angle of slope with respect to side frame2. In the preferred embodiment, the surface of heating plate 6 contactedby yarn 4 is directed toward the central passage 30 lying between sideframe 2 and middle frame 1 for easy access .Iadd.by a machineoperator.Iaddend.. However, it also would be possible, but lessadvantageous, to utilize a heating plate which is pivotal about itslongitudinal axis so that it may be swung about in operation in a mannersuch that its contact surface is facing upwards.

After running .Iadd.upwardly .Iaddend.through the zone of the heater 6,which may be suitably insulated and covered by a closable flap so as toprevent heat loss, the yarn 4 .Iadd.exits the outlet end of the heater 6and .Iaddend.is deflected by a yarn guide 31 having yarn over-runelements 17 and 18 which guide the yarn .Iadd.downwardly to the closelyadjacent inlet end of, and .Iaddend.over cooling plate 7.

After the yarn travels through the zone of cooling plate 7, it is fed toa false-twisting device 8 which may be a conventional false-twistspindle, frictional false-twister or similar device. The yarn is thenremoved from the false-twisting device by a take-off mechanism 9. Inoperation, the peripheral speeds of delivery mechanism 5 and take-offmechanism 9 are adjusted so that the yarn in the false-twisting zone issubjected to the desired tension. However, it is to be noted that thesynthetic yarn may be .[.optionaly.]. .Iadd.optionally .Iaddend.drawn inthe false-twisting zone by a suitable means. After being taken up bytake-off mechanism 9, the .Iadd.processed .Iaddend.yarn may be supplieddirectly to a winding device 12 mounted on self-supporting plate 25 atthe middle frame.

In the illustrated embodiment, there are shown three winding devices 12corresponding to three delivery bobbins 3 which are all arranged aboveone another. It should be further noted that the three yarns emittingfrom delivery bobbins 3 are guided side-by-side in the longitudinaldirection of the machine throughout the process and each of them passthrough a separate false-twisting device.

After passing through take-off mechanism 9, the yarn may be passedthrough an additional heater 10 before being supplied to winding device12. The heating of the yarn in the zone of heater 10 is preferablyeffected without the yarn contacting any surface. This may beaccomplished by passing the yarn through a heater in the form of aheated tube. After passing through heater 10, the yarn is taken up by afurther take-off mechanism 11 which supplies it to winding device 12.

Except for the region immediately about the outlet end of the heatingplate 6 and in spite of its considerable length, all of the relevantprocessing parts of the machine are within arms reach for servicing and,in particular, thread application may be quickly effected withoutassistance by the machine operator.

For application of the yarn at the relatively inaccessible outlet end ofheating plate 6, the yarn guide device 31 shown in greater detail inFIGS. 2 and 2A is utilized. The device comprises a height-adjustable rod13 which is guided by means of guides 14 along a path which intersectsthe angle formed between heating plate 6 and cooling plate 7. Rod 13 maybe fixed in an upper position 22 shown in FIG. 2 and a lower position 21shown in FIG. 2A. At the lower end of the rod a hand grip is providedand at the upper end a pair of pivotal arms 15 and 16 are mounted whichhave yarn over-run elements 17 and 18 positioned at their free endsrespectively.

In the lower position 21 (FIG. 2A), pivotal arms 15, 16 are held in adefined closed position by spring 23 and stop 24 which is fittedtherebetween. In this closed position, the yarn guide can pass throughthe narrowest gap between the heating plate 6 and cooling plate 7.

At a predetermined point in the region of the .Iadd.apex of the acute.Iaddend.angle formed between the .Iadd.outlet end of .Iaddend.heatingplate 6 and .Iadd.the inlet end of .Iaddend.cooling plate 7, fixed stops19 and 20 are provided for the purpose of spreading pivotal arms 15 and16 sufficiently far apart so that yarn over-run elements 17, 18 will liealong lines substantially tangent to the outlet of the heating plate 6and the inlet of the cooling plate 7 respectively.

In operation, the yarn is applied to the machine by first guiding itbetween delivery mechanism 5 at side frame 2 and the false-twistingdevice 8 and take-off mechanism 9 at the middle frame 1 via yarnover-run elements 17, 18 when yarn guide device 31 is located in itslowered position 21. Height-adjustable rod 13 is then raised to itsupper position 22 by the machine operator where arms 15, 16 will be.[.cause.]. .Iadd.caused .Iaddend.to pivot apart by fixed stops 19, 20and the yarn will thereby be applied to heating plate 6 and coolingplate 7.

One of the chief advantages of the present invention is that as a resultof the oblique orientation of heating plate 6 very great heating zonelengths and corresponding greater running speeds are possible. Forexample, in actual use heating plate lengths of two meters have beenused. In addition, because of the oblique orientation, sufficientvertical space remains for reasonable operating heights. The arrangementalso insures that the vapors generated during the heating of syntheticfibers which have been previously saturated with various treatmentliquids can escape. Furthermore, this oblique orientation permits theaccommodation of a cooling plate of sufficient length without theoperating height of the machine becoming unacceptably large.

Mechanical assistance in applying the yarn to the machine is likewiseonly necessary in the region of the angle between the oblique heatingplate and the vertical cooling plate. The design of the yarn guidedevice 31 having pivotal arms 15, 16 insures that the yarn can beapplied slowly and with sufficient preheating to heating plate 6, whichis at its operating temperature, and simultaneously to cooling plate 7without the yarn suffering damage or breaking.

Yarn over-run elements 17, 18 are fixed in their operating position(FIG. 2) so that the yarn is held in complete contact with the heatingplate 6 and cooling plate 7. The use of a pair of over-run elementsoffers the advantage that it assists in reducing the height of themachine. However, it would alternatively be possible to provide a singleover-run element at a suitable greater height positioned within theangle formed between the heating plate and cooling plate to achieve suchcomplete plate contact.

Furthermore, it has been found that in order to insure satisfactorycontact of the yarn of the heating and cooling plates, the over-runelements need not lie along a line exactly tangent from the outlet ofthe heating plate and along a line exactly tangent from the inlet of thecooling plate. Also, the over-run elements preferably should be arrangedin such a way that the yarn coming from heating plate 6 is initiallydeflected only slightly by over-run element 17 with respect to over-runelement 18. In practice, it has been found that the angle of deflectionof the yarn between over-run elements 17 and 18 should preferably be notmore than 30 degrees. In this manner damage to the hot yarn coming fromthe outlet of heating plate 6 is avoided. Since the cooling of the yarnbelow a level to which it is highly .[.susceptable.]. .Iadd.susceptible.Iaddend.to damage takes place so rapidly in the region of the yarnguide device, the angle of deflection of the yarn about over-run element18 as its travels to cooling plate 7 is not critical.

Yarn over-run elements 17, 18 could alternatively be mounted on themachine frame rather than rod 13. In .[.this.]. .Iadd.that.Iaddend.case, in order to apply the yarn and operate the machine, alift rod would be utilized to apply the yarn onto the over-run elements.

However, in applying yarn and setting up the machine with the embodimentof the machine shown in FIG. 1, the yarn is first removed from thesupply bobbin 3 and then located in the delivery mechanism 5 via yarnguides 33 located on either side thereof. Subsequent to yarn guide 33the yarn is routed through false-twisting device 8, take-off mechanism 9and the following elements located at middle frame 1. The yarn is thenapplied to over-run elements 17, 18 by means of a manual lift rod or, asillustrated in FIG. 1, the yarn is directly laid upon over-run elements17, 18 when guide device 31 and height-adjustable rod 13 is in its lowerposition 21 as shown in FIG. 2A. From this position, rod 13 is raisedinto its operative position 22 as shown in FIG. 2 wherein the yarn isbrought into contact with heating plate 6 and cooling plate 7.

While several particular embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, it should be understood that various obviouschanges and modifications thereto may be made, and it is thereforeintended in the following claims to include all such modifications andchanges as may fall within the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A false-twist crimping machine for processingfilament yarn, said machine comprising:a side frame having a bobbinlocated thereon for supplying the filament yarn, a delivery means forguiding said yarn to an upwardly inclined heating zone, a middle framecarrying a downwardly disposed cooling zone which receives said yarn asit feeds from said heating zone, a false-twisting means for receivingsaid yarn as it feeds from said cooling zone, a take-off for supplyingsaid yarn emitting from said false-twisting means to a winding devicelocated at said middle frame, said heating zone sloping at an obliqueangle between said side frame and said middle frame, and a yarn guidemeans positioned at the angle formed between said heating zone andcooling zone in a manner so that said yarn may run over it along a linesubstantially tangent from the outlet of said heating zone and along aline substantially tangent to the inlet of said cooling zone.
 2. Thefalse-twist crimping machine of claim 1 wherein said heating zonecomprises a downwardly directed contact surface along which said yarntravels.
 3. The false-twist crimping machine of claim 1 wherein saidyarn guide means is mounted on a height-adjustable rod whose guide pathis located in the angle formed between said heating zone and saidcooling zone.
 4. The false-twist crimping machine of claim 3 whereinsaid yarn guide means further comprises a pair of pivotal arms mountedon the upper end of said height-adjustable rod, said pivotal arms havingyarn over-run elements positioned at their upper ends, said arms beingcaused to pivot apart in the region of the angle formed between saidheating zone and said cooling zone by fixed stops provided at apredetermined location therein.
 5. The false-twist crimping machine ofclaim 1 wherein said yarn guide means comprises at least one yarnover-run element which is positioned along a line substantially tangentto the inlet of said cooling zone and is displaced by not more than 30°from a line substantially tangent to the outlet of said heating zone..Iadd.
 6. A falst-twist crimping machine for processing filament yarn,said machine comprising:a side frame having bobbins located thereon forsupplying filament yarn; a middle frame laterally spaced from said sideframe and defining a service passage therebetween for movementthereabout of a machine operator; yarn heating means having an inlet endand an outlet end and defining an elongate heating zone terminatingabove the height of said side frame; yarn delivery means associated withsaid side frame and said heating means for guiding the yarn to the inletend of said heating means; yarn cooling means associated with saidmiddle frame and having an inlet end and an outlet end and defining anelongate cooling zone; said heating means and said cooling means beingangularly disposed relative to each other so that the inlet end of saidheating means and the outlet end of said cooling means are disposed onopposite sides of said service passage, and the outlet end of saidheating means and the inlet end of said cooling means are closelyadjacent each other and generally form the apex of an acute angle withsaid apex being located at a height above said side frame, whereby theyarn is directed upwardly in the heating zone and downwardly in thecooling zone during processing; yarn guide means positioned generally atsaid apex between the adjacent ends of said heating and cooling meansfor guiding the yarn from the heating zone to the cooling zone; falsetwisting means carried by said middle frame for receiving the yarn fromsaid cooling means; and winding means carried by said middle frame forwinding the processed yarn. .Iaddend..Iadd.
 7. The false-twist crimpingmachine of claim 6 wherein said yarn heating means has a length greaterthan the width of said service passage. .Iaddend.